The Crystal Snake
by Sailor Earth and Mirax Terrik
Summary: The Young Jedi Knights are being chased by a ruthless bounty hunter and run into five kids and an alien who can transform into any animal they touch . . .


  
Sailor Earth: Okay, you know the drill. None of this is ours, we're just to pathetic to make up our own characters and setting---   
Mirax Terrik: Speak for youself, bakagami! Anyway, we would have finished this (Yeah right!- SE) but a little program called Gundam Wing kinda absorbed all of our time.   
SE: As I was saying before I was so rudely inturrupted, the Young Jedi Knights belong to.... Um, do they belong to George Lucas, or Kevin Anderson?   
MT: Good question, ...... Anyway, Animorphs belong to K.A. Applegate and any Gundam Wing stuff we might happen to mention belongs to some guys over in Japan.   
SE: Okay, here's the story!

THE CRYSTAL SNAKE 

"I don't see the point of us having this meeting. "Marco whined, "It's summer. It's a beautiful day. The yeerks haven't tried to attack us and Erek, the android, hasn't shown up with any of his _wonderful_ news of yeerk domination." The Animorphs and Ax were gathered at Cassie's barn also known as the Wildlife Rehab Clinic for a meeting   
"You know," Rachel remarked, " I'd be the last one to admit this, but I agree with Marco. It would be nice to relax for a while."   
Marco got on his knees and bowed to Jake, "O Fearless Leader, let us have some fun"   
Jake, otherwise known as the fearless leader of the Animorphs, hesitated. "I guess we have been   
working pretty hard and need a break." He said reluctantly.   
Cassie smiled at Jake from where she was cleaning a cage, "What should we do then?"   
Will we go to get some delicious cinnamon buns?>> Ax inquired hopefully. Ax loves to eat human food. Andalites don't have mouths, so the power of taste is very overwhelming for him. He once tried to eat a paper plate.   
Marco made a sour face, "Call me crazy, but taking Ax to get cinnamon bunz wouldn't be my idea of relaxing."   
Okay Crazy, I have an idea, >> Tobias said from his usual spot on the rafters, How about we visit the hork-bajir colony. If nothing else, it's fun flying there. >>   
The Animorphs and Ax all thought it was a great idea and nodded their consent. It would be fun to finally just go on a friendly visit with out having to worry about saving the world from aliens.   


* * * 

  
"It was a perfectly fair move. Whining about it won't help you." Em teedee commented, "After all it's just a holo game"   
"Let it be known it's not wise to upset a wookie. They are capable of ripping peoples' arms out of their sockets." Jainia said with a smirk.   
Lowie's opponent, Tenel Ka, looked amused and remarked, "It would not be hard for friend Lowbacca to accomplish that. He would have only half a job to do." Tenel Ka had lost her arm in a lightsaber training accident at the Jedi Academy.   
The young jedi knights and Em teedee were in hyperspace in route to Kashyyyk to visit Lowie's family. Master Skywalker and his wife, Mara, had let them postpone their training for this trip because they needed a break after fighting the evils in the galaxy.   
"No Jacen, don't hook that wire in there!" Zekk exclaimed. Suddenly the lights went out. Zekk had been showing Jacen the wiring of the Rock Dragon, it wasn't going very well.   
"If it is not too much to ask, friend Jacen, please do not damage my ship beyond repair." Tenel Ka said in her usual unemotional voice.   
"Sorry," Jacen said sheepishly, "I guess all of Dad's mechanical genius ended up in Jaina."   
"It's okay; I can fix it." Zekk said. The lights immediately came back on. Just in time for the ship to shake uncontrollably.   
Every one became alert and ready for trouble. "Jacen what have you done _now_?" Jaina half joked.   
"It wasn't my fault. How come you assume it's my fault?" Jacen complained, "By the way, what exactly did I not do?"   
Jaina smiled at her twin, looked back at her console, and frowned."We've been pulled out of hyperspace and there's a ship firing at us. Tenel Ka, Jacen, get to the gun turrets. Zekk check for damage. Lowie and I will fly." Jaina she immediately took charge of the situation. _Who is this ship that is firing at us?_ Jaina wondered, _could it be pirates? _She sighed,_ I'll figure it out later, right now I've got work to do_.   
As every one ran to their positions Jaina put the Dragon Through a corkscrew evasive maneuver. Lowie growled and Em teedee translated, "What do you mean we don't have shields? We're DOOMED!!"   
Jaina sighed she would have to get them out of there quick. The ship took another hit.   
"One of the engines is down. Jaina get us out of here." Zekk said urgently.   
"I can't," Jaina replied, "The nav computer is gone."   
"Make a micro jump to somewhere."   
"You can't make a blind hyperspace jump. Are you insane?!" Jacen yelled through the comm.   
"Given our present situation we do not appear to have a choice," Tenel Ka remarked calmly as a   
concussion missile streaked toward the ship, but she did not feel the impact.   
"Okay, Here goes nothing!" Jaina yelled. 

* * *   
At the command counsole of her ship, the bounty hunter leaned back in her chair with an intrigued expression on her alien face. The Jedi children had proved to be a greater challenge than her employer had led her to belive. Basstet had used a gravity well to pull the Jedi brats out of hyperspace, but they had managed to damage it. The Jedi had escaped but she had shot a tracking device onto their ship disguised as a missile. She would soon catch up to them. A ruthless smile crossed her face. This would be a challenge to savor.   


* * * 

The Rock Dragon came out of hyperspace and the Young Jedi Knights breathed a sigh of relief, luckily they hadn't flown into a black hole or a supernova.   
" Lowie, check the nav computer I want to know where we are." Jaina called out urgently as the ship began to buck uncontrollably, "And Zekk, I need a damage report." Lowie growled to remind Jaina that they did not have a nav computer any more. " Is there any way you can get it back on line?" Jaina asked as she tried to steer the ship towards the nearest system.   
"Jaina? We have a problem." Zekk reported over the com.   
" What?" Jaina barked as she and Lowie struggled with the controls.   
" We're losing coolant from the sublight engines, the stablizer's on the brink, and if we don't land soon we won't be able to."   
"Acording to the ship's scanners the third planet of this system has life." Jacen put in from his terminal, "We should be able to land there."   
"It would not be wise to land on a unknown planet" Tenel Ka said with her usual calmness.   
"It wouldn't be wise to stick around out here for very long." said Zekk.   
As Jaina steared the ship toward the planet, no hails, threats, or directions to land were sent. The com silence was starting to unnerve everyone.   
"We must find a hidden place to land." Tenel Ka pointed out.   
Jaina streched out to the resivour of the Force and seached for a safe place to land.She felt the Force tug her in a certain direction. Pulling in with grace that seemed impossible for a failing craft she could see no habital pace to land but followed the Force. When she got closer, Jaina noticed that there was a wide and fertile valley beneath them that hadn't been there before. As Jaina pulled the Dragon into a landing, the Young Jedi Knights felt an unseen menace lurking just beyond thier vison. 

* * * 

The Hork-Bajir were grinning their nightmare smiles as the Animorphs demorphed and Jara Hamee stepped forward.   
"Friend Tobias!" he exlaimed " how be you?"   
"Hi Jara, we just came for a visit"   
"That good, tell story?"   
Jake ginned " I think that would be great idea"   
Tobias smiled inwardly _Hork-Bajir are definetly not the geniuses of the galaxy, but ya gotta love em._   
Just as he was thinking this, somthing caught his hawk eye " Oh, curse words!!" he exclaimed   
" Man, that was lame, " Marco said is his normal sardonic voice "couldn't you think of some better profanity than that!?!"   
" Well, there are little Hork-Bajir around and do _you_ want to explain to them what they mean?"   
" All I'm saying is that you of all people should be able to come up with some better cusses" Marco retorted "so what called for ' curse words' anyway?"   
" That" Tobias said, gesturing with his beak.   
"Oh, CURSE WORDS!!"   
"Ax, what is that thing?" Jake asked urgently.   
"It appears to be a ship, Prince Jake"   
"Well I can tell that, what kind of ship is it?"   
"It is not any design that I am familiar with, Prince Jake"   
" Don't call me prince" Jake responded automatically   
" Battle morphs," Rachel barked, starting to grow brown fur.   
"No, there's not enough time" Toby said coming up from behind her father, " Morphing wouldn't be smart, we don't want to give anything away at this point."   
The Animorphs and Toby watched in collective silence as the unknown ship descended on the little valley. Ax could not help but marvel at the skillful way the ship was handled, even though smoke seemed to be coming out of the engines.   
The ship softly touched down and after a brief pause, the ramp started to lower.   


MT: Okay, that's it for now ^_~   
SE: Actually, that's probably all there will ever be, unless we get A) Lots of reviews, or B)We get really bored and finish the Star Wars/Gundam Wing crossover that we are about to start.   
MT: Please review! ^o^   
  
  
  



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